Publications
Partners
On July 20, a tweet from Nkululeko Mbundu, a member of ActionSA and City of Johannesburg’s member of mayoral committee for economic development became the backdrop to the end of an era.
The tweet read:
The tweet was met with many different responses, some of which were in favour of Mbundu cleaning the streets of Johannesburg to make them a safer and more aesthetically pleasing place.
Others mourned the loss of the streets, which were responsible for their peculiar and trendsetting outfits.
One Twitter user even said that the City of Johannesburg didn’t understand the magnitude of what it had just taken away.
The department of economic development has been clamping down on informal traders throughout 2022, as a means to eradicate illegal trading, as well as to lessen the economic load of illegal settlers making money illegally.
De Villiers Street became a place of refuge for those who were unable to find formal and legal employment, and also a place for disenfranchised groups in South Africa to buy clothing at affordable prices.
READ: Meet me at The Station - the tragic tale of a building under siege
I remember making my quarterly trip to the madunusa to buy an almost entirely new wardrobe for under R1 000. Proudly, I would tell people who asked me where I had bought my clothes: “I got this shirt from madunusa, it was only R5.”
My favourite all-time purchase: an authentic vintage cream Ralph Lauren pullover vest, which I bought for only R30.
With prices so low, it almost felt like the madunusa was a place of neutral ground, where there was enough for everyone, rich and poor, where aesthetics converged and where icons were made.
De Villiers Street has long been known as the hub of Johannesburg’s thrift culture, where the kids would come by and lessen their carbon footprint while also creating their own sense of style without feeding into the nature of fast fashion.
It is unclear whether the motivation for the eradication of informal traders is government’s response to rising complaints of illegal foreign nationals making a living in South Africa. According to Mbundu, informal traders will be required to go through a verification process that will allow them to trade legally.
A statement released by the office of the MMC for economic development stated:
Unfortunately, the reality for most informal traders is bleak, as many of them have immigrated to South Africa illegally and have since been trading informally to make ends meet. The devastating news could mean that more foreign nationals would turn to crime or be at a higher risk of deportation.
The #reclaimJoburg initiative will change society forever.
As we say goodbye to madunusa for now, we can never forget the social impact it had in creating trendsetters and fashion icons.
